Chapter 57
NADEEKA
‘Why have we even got a Christmas tree?’ Nadeeka’s colleague Elaine looks up from a tangle of fairy lights. ‘Isn’t it a bit . . . you know, culturally inappropriate? At least half our staff are Muslim.’
‘Instructions from the CEO.’ Nadeeka holds up her hands.
‘Ours not to reason why . . . Right, I think we’re almost there.
’ The large hall has been cleared to accommodate the tables set around the perimeter, one for each of the ‘opportunity paths’ they have identified.
Nadeeka checks each one off on her list. Pickers and packers, forklift drivers, returns, inventory, transport, dispatch, quality assurance . . . ‘Who’s sorting the outside lights?’
‘Valmir Daka.’ Elaine names an Albanian man who works on the maintenance team. ‘His wife works in the warehouse, so they’ll have the kids with them.’
‘Great.’
Nadeeka’s phone buzzes: a message from Scott. Are you picking the girls up today?
She sighs. Why don’t men remember things? No, she replies, you’re bringing them home after the dress rehearsal.
She surveys the room. Her mind is cluttered with weeks of emails she’s sent to local media, the mayor’s office, colleges, Job Centres, community groups.
In the centre of the room, rows of chairs face the stage where the glossy recruitment video is already playing.
A corporate talking head strolls through the warehouse in a box-fresh fluorescent jacket, his smile unfeasibly white.
Elaine clocks it too and rolls her eyes. ‘You’d think we worked at bloody Disneyland.’ She stands back to admire the fairy lights, now draped around the Christmas tree.
Nadeeka grins. ‘It’s a bit full-on for minimum wage jobs, isn’t it?
Come on, let’s have a quick cuppa before people start arriving.
’ After Nadeeka had pitched the idea of a job fair in a meeting six months ago – part recruitment, part PR, she’d said – the idea had snowballed, and there have been times when Nadeeka has wished she’d never raised it.
But over the past few weeks it’s been good to have something to focus on, and now she feels proud of what they’ve achieved.
She takes a final look at the room as they leave. Display tables, TV screen, rows of chairs . . . check. Everything’s done.
They’re ready to throw open the doors to the public.